“It is likely to increase flooding and coastal change” [UK Climate Change Risk Assessment]
“Millions of hectares across England and Wales are at risk of erosion.” [Science Direct]
“We urgently need to help seaside communities prepare for the damage that will come” [One Home]
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Erosion is becoming a real issue – with the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment looking at how it is likely to increase flooding and coastal change over the coming decades: CCRA3-Briefing-Flooding-and-Coastal-Change.pdf
FARMLAND EROSION
This week has seen dramatic pictures of flooding in the Sid Valley and East Devon – with “the River Sid and its tributaries very full at the moment – and one of the challenges highlighted by these heavy rains is soil run-off… Too much soil in the river – The Sid
The problem is that it’s going to get worse: Soil loss in EU and UK to soar 22.5% by 2050 | The Independent
The government is very aware of this, with a report out earlier in the year: Summary of the state of the environment: soil – GOV.UK
The question is whether current government policies will be enough to create the necessary “monumental shift in how soil is cared for [as] 6 million hectares across England and Wales are at risk of erosion or compaction, costing an estimated £1.2 billion a year.” Environment plan for England asks farmers to restore nature – but changes are likely to be superficial and The total costs of soil degradation in England and Wales – ScienceDirect
COASTAL EROSION
Climate change is changing the shape of our coastline – and “we urgently need to help seaside communities prepare for the damage that will come:” Coastal erosion: Climate group warns communities of cost – BBC News
Here’s an interactive map from the One Home campaign group: English communities most under threat from coastal erosion by 2100 – mapped | One Home
Coastal erosion is very much due to climate change, as within the next two decades, ” scores of the country’s beaches, piers and bays could be underwater because of increasing global sea levels caused by global warming.” Map reveals the areas that could be plunged underwater by 2050 amid sea level rise | Daily Mail Online
Earlier in the week, the i-newspaper analysed Google Maps from the last two decades to “show how coastal erosion is eating away at England’s vanishing coastline” – and included Sidmouth as one of their ‘dramatic images’:
The long back gardens of these houses have been gradually cut into between 2001 and 2023, with some of them losing up to a third of their length. On either side, the woodland area also appear to have lost trees. In March this year, East Devon District Council announced a “massive step” in coastal protection for the town, including the construction of offshore breakwaters and the building of a 120 meter long wall or “super groyne”. The announcement came six months after cliffs at Sidmouth crashed on to the beach in front of bathers in August last year. Dramatic images show how coastal erosion is eating away at England’s vanishing coastline